The MPA Guide is a science-based tool and framework to identify different types of MPAs and connect these types of MPAs with the outcomes they are expected to achieve.

The MPA Guide consists of four elements: Stage of Establishment, Level of Protection, Enabling Conditions, and Outcomes.

The MPA Guide links these elements to clarify what social and ecological Outcomes can be expected from an MPA at a particular Stage and Level, assuming the Enabling Conditions are in place.

With this complete package, The MPA Guide helps illuminate what protection we have and what we still need to do, and gives us the tools to design and modify MPAs to make effective protection a reality.

Please visit Marine Conservation Institute’s Marine Protection Atlas to explore MPAs around the world that have been assessed according to The MPA Guide Stage of Establishment and Level of Protection.